Poll Rule Reminders: Participants could vote for up to 10 films; no more, but certainly less. Order was not required since it had no bearing on the results.)

I’m doing the Poll a bit earlier than I normally do. This is because I’m trying to spread out the Top Ten By Year posts a bit – and the only ones I can do that with without having seen all the films on my watchlist are Poster Highlights and the Poll. Plus, seeing everyone’s votes is also an opportunity for me to make any final additions to my watchlist (I made two based on people’s votes; Outward Bound and Raffles).

First off, thank you so much to everyone who voted! 1930 is such an absorbing year in cinema, and such an overlooked one to boot, so I wasn’t sure how many people would participate. Many of you gave a full top ten, and many others were kind enough to contribute a handful of passionate picks. All in all, 69 people voted for 79 different films!

Taking into account the Internet oversaturation of lists/listicles, I hope it’s clear that this project is anything but tossed off. The Top Ten By Year Project is an effort to reclaim what I love about lists in the first place. Seeing what makes the collective top ten is a lot of fun, but may I direct your attention to the full breakdown of votes and the individual ballots? My hope with these polls is that, in addition to planting seeds of anticipation for the related posts to come (What I’ll Remember About the Films of 1930: A Love Letter, Favorite Shots, and the Top Ten. Poster Highlights for 1930 can be found here), they mainly serve as a resource for anyone looking for new films to watch whether it’s from seeing:

a. what ‘Film Twitter’ collectively lovesb. more importantly, the films towards the bottom of the list, the ones you’ve never heard of that are begging for (re)discovery.c. the individual ballots from people whose taste and knowledge you value (“I don’t know what this is, but if Labuza likes it, surely it’s worth a look!”)

So exciting to have first-time voters I’ve long admired such as Farran Nehme, The Nitrate Diva, and author Megan Abbott. Even filmmaker Anna Biller voted! Was also honored to have Miriam Bale, Richard Brody, and so many others whose contributions and tastes are so valued. Actually, all of you who voted!

Surprises? Disappointments? General thoughts? Leave your thoughts on the poll in the comments section!

@fantasmascope (Emily of Femina Ridens):Madam Satan, City Girl, Prix de Beauté, Borderline, People on Sunday, Das Lied ist aus, Girl with a Hatbox (I keep seeing this last one as 1927 so I won’t be counting it)

@railoftomorrow (Scott Nye, writer and podcast co-host at CriterionCast, etc.):Blue Angel, Morocco, Blood of a Poet, Three From the Filling Station, City Girl, People on Sunday, Hell’s Angels, L’Age d’Or, All Quiet on the Western Front

@TheEndofCinema (Sean Gilman of The End of Cinema; The George Sanders Show, and They Shot Pictures podcasts):1. Morocco 2. The Dawn Patrol 3. People on Sunday 4. City Girl 5. Under the Roofs of Paris 6. The Blue Angel 7. Earth 8. All Quiet on the Western Front 9. The Big Trail 10. Animal Crackers

@FCardamenis (Forrest Cardamenis of Spectrum Culture, The Film Stage & Movie Mezzanine):The Blue Angel, Morocco, That Night’s Wife, All Quiet on the Western Front, L’Age d’Or, Earth, and Salt for Svanetia

@afterglow2046:City Girl, Blood of a Poet, Age d’Or, Murder! Under the roofs of Paris, Billy the Kid, Morocco, Earth, Divorcée, Miss Europe (Prix de beaute)

@derek_g (Derek Godin):
Animal Crackers, L’Age d’Or

@rgodfrey (Ryan Godfrey):The Blue Angel, Animal Crackers, Under the Roofs of Paris, All Quiet on the Western Front, L’Age d’Or, Free and Easy

@SchmanthonyP (Brian Schmid):All Quiet on the Western Front, People on Sunday, Earth, L’Age d’Or, City Girl, Under the Roofs of Paris, The Blue Angel
@dvanhouw (Dave Van Houwelingen):All Quiet on the Western Front, The Blue Angel, L’Age d’Or, Animal Crackers, Blood of a Poet, Under the Roofs of Paris

@DavidBlakslee (David Blakslee of Criterion Reflections, Criterion Cast) :
L’Age d’Or, All Quiet on the Western Front, Blood of a Poet, The Blue Angel, Borderline, Monte Carlo, Under the Roofs of Paris, People on Sunday

@mimbale (Miriam Bale, programmer and contributor to various publications including Film Comment and the New York Times):Let’s Go Native, Outward Bound, The Dawn Patrol, The Blue Angel, Montana Moon, People on Sunday, Our Blushing Brides, Paid, Fast & Loose, Morocco

@selfstyledsiren (Farran Nehme, the Self-Styled Siren of Film Comment, NY Post, author of Missing Reels):
All Quiet on the Western Front, Her Man, La Petite Lise, City Girl, Min and Bill, The Big House, Morocco, Animal Crackers, Dawn Patrol, The Doorway to Hell

@r_emmet (R. Emmet Sweeney of Movie Morlocks):
Abraham Lincoln, L’Age d’Or, All Quiet on the Western Front, The Big Trail, The Dawn Patrol, Follow Thru, Home Town, Morocco, People on Sunday, The Three from the Filling Station

@HouseOfSparrows (David Robson of House of Sparrows):The Bat Whispers, A Propos de Nice, Animal Crackers, L’Age d’Or, That Night’s Wife, The Dawn Patrol

@opalfilms:Blood of a Poet, Blue Angel, All Quiet on the Western Front, L’Age d’Or, Earth, Animal Crackers, Golf Specialist

@UUUUAHHH:L’Age d’Or, The Blue Angel, Earth, All Quiet on the Western Front, City Girl, Borderline (need to see more)

@Onceatenor:The Blue Angel, Animal Crackers, King of Jazz, All Quiet on the Western Front

@PreCodeDotCom (Pre-Code.com):All Quiet on the Western Front, Animal Crackers, The Big House, The Divorcee, L’Age d’Or, Let Us Be Gay, Loose Ankles, Monte Carlo, The Unholy Three, War Nurse@SeithTristan (Tristan Seith):The Three from the Filling Station, The Blue Angel, People on Sunday, Earth, Westfront 1918, Under the Roofs of Paris, The Big House, L’Age d’Or, Murder!, Doorway to Hell

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It’s that time again! I’m in the second half of my research for Top Ten By Year: 1930 so I thought it would be a good time to do this. I’ve conducted polls with all of you fellow film lovers for some previous years of the Top Ten By Year Project; 1925, 1992, 1958, and 1978. It has been such a success, and is now an integral part of the project’s traditions.

So tell me (leave your ballots in the comments); what are your top films of 1930?

Order doesn’t factor in for results, but you are more than welcome submit them that way. If you’ve only seen a handful of films from 1930, don’t just list off what you’ve seen. I only want ballots with films you consider favorites. If that means it’s only 1 or 2, that’s perfectly fine!

I repeat: I don’t want 10 for the sake of 10 or even 5 for the sake of 5. Only the ones you love.

You have a week to vote. Results will go up next week.The post will contain, as always, a breakdown of all votes by numbers and individuals. The top ten is always the least interesting part of the poll. Seeing what’s below, discovering films that have there of four votes, seeing what everyone voted for as an individual, that is where the worth of the poll comes in. The poll breakdowns are excellent resources for learning about new-to-you films.

It’s that time again! I’m not sure there’s any Top Ten By Year related post I look forward to more than Movie Poster Highlights. It gives me a chance to really cull through works of all kinds, to try my best to track down artists, and to share my findings.

First, I’m going to put the spotlight on a couple of artists who have works represented. ERIC ROHMAN turned up in my 1925 post with a few posters. I really love his use of frames within frames, and the juxtaposition of harsh lines with soft sketches.

From PosterGuide: “Eric Rohman was a Swedish illustrator and film actor. He began designing posters around 1915-16, while based in Copenhagen. Around 1920, he had his own studio with several employees. By the 1940s, he believed that he had produced approximately 7000 movie posters.”

Swedish poster forA Lady to Love. Artist: Eric Rohman. I am a sucker for pops of color.Swedish poster for Undertow. Artist: Erik Rohman. Love the drama of the waves and the actors profiles.Swedish poster for Let Us Be Gay. Artist: Eric Rohman. It’s really funny that this poster contrasts partying with Shearer’s kids because the film doesn’t care about those kids one lick.Swedish poster for Czar of Broadway. Artist: Eric Rohman.Swedish poster for Va Banque. Artist: Eric Rohman. This one is difference than the rest in font and design. It’s also for a German film whereas his others here are for US films. I’m so drawn to the color scheme and blocking as well as the off placement of arms and hands.

DOLLY RUDEMAN:
The only female Dutch poster designer of the 1920’s, Rudeman’s work through the 20’s the 30’s is incredible. Her posters utilize reds, oranges, and yellows, and are full of sweeping shadows. Here is her poster for Morocco.

Dutch poster for Morocco. Artist: Dolly Rudeman

SWEDISH POSTERS:
Sweden has by far the highest number of posters here. So here are a bunch. I did the best I could with tracking down artist info. It’s largely impossible. The only info I could find was ‘J. Olsens’ at the bottom of some, which I was hoping was an artist stamp, but seems to be a printing company.

Swedish poster for Trollbruden (The Troll Bride), a film I can’t find any evidence evidence of existing. Artist unknown. Printed by: J. Olsens. I love this so much. It looks so much more like an illustration you’d find in a children’s book, and there isn’t another poster I saw like this one in all of my research,Swedish poster for The Divorcee. Artist unknown. Printed by J. Olsens. Very similar color scheme as Va Banque.Swedish poster for The Cat Creeps. Artist unknown. Printed by J. Olsens. Clock. Haunted house. Lady’s frightened face. Bats. Great combination.Swedish poster for Du Barry, Woman of Passion. Artist unknown. If you can’t tell, if you put an illustration of a pretty lady on your poster, I will love your poster.Swedish poster for Midnight Mystery. Artist: Unknown. The illustration here is so atypical and I’m fascinated by it.

Yellow is a very popular color, especially in some of these Swedish posters:

Swedish poster for The Girl of the Golden West. Artist unknown. (Cannot find any indication as to what ‘Palm’ might mean)Swedish poster for Hit the Deck. Artist: Russell Patterson. Love the repetition of the svelte figures.Swedish poster for Man Trouble. Artist: UnknownSwedish poster for The Girl Said No. Artist: John Held Jr. Love the detail of the dirty rolled-down stockings.Swedish poster for Ladies of Leisure. Artist: UnknownSwedish poster for Die drei von der Tankstelle. Attributed to Otto G. Carlsund. This is a special one. So flat and square and perfect.

It’s only fitting that the greatest movie ever has the greatest posters. Ladies and gents,Madam Satan!

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Multiple posters from one film: Here’sThe Blue Angel.

US poster for The Blue Angel. Artist unknown. Iconic.German poster for Der blaue Engel. Artist: Dorothea Fischer-Nosbich. Such a striking anomaly. Every inch of space is used, the forms squeezed in in unexpected ways.German poster for Der blaue Engel. Artist: Paul Rosié. I came across this after I had gathered all of my posters. It’s so strange to see an ad for this film without Dietrich. But weirdly enough, it’s my favorite poster for the film. The presentation is so deceptively charming; it knowingly hides the very dark content of the film, giving this a sinister edge.

Here are two posters by Roger Vacher for Le mystère de la chambre jaune (The Mystery of the Yellow Room).

French poster for The Flame of Love. Artist unknownSwedish poster for The Flame of Love. Artist unknown

These next two posters remind me of each other. Maybe it’s the colors or the stare of the faces. The poster on the left, for Captain of the Guard, is INSANE.

US poster for Captain of the Guard. Made by the Morgan Litho CompanyUS poster for The Green Goddess. Artist unknown

A pair of William Powell posters.

US poster for Street of Chance. Artist unknown. Obsessed with this use of red. This artist understands not to take away from Powell’s eyes.US poster for The Benson Murder Case. Artist unknown. So in love with the placement of every element here. Perfect balance, and again, understanding that William Powell’s eyes are guaranteed to sell any film.

And here are the rest. Hope you enjoy!

Italian poster for City Girl. Artist unknownFrench poster for Tonka of the Gallows. Artist unknown. Enticed by the mirroring effect.US poster for Murder!Artist unknown. One of my favorite posters for any Hitchcock film.US poster for The Big House. Artist unknown. Another anomaly. Bars and faint sketches make for a dynamic poster.French poster for La petite Lise. Artist unknown. Satan and Pearls. That’s all you need.Dutch poster for Brand in der Oper. Artist unknown. That man does not have a good grip on that woman.Spanish poster for Viennese Nights. Artist unknownFrench poster for animated film Le roman de Renard (The Tale of the Fox). Artist unknownUS poster for Seven Days’ Leave. Artist unknown. Gary Cooper’s beautiful face surrounded by pillars. Sold.US poster for Fast and Loose. Artist unknown. Love how bubbly and pink this is, and the sloppy and chic depiction of Miriam. US poster for Show Girl in Hollywood. Made by the Continental Litho CompanyUS poster for King of Jazz. Artist unknown

If I had to pick a favorite from 1930 it would be Joseph Koutachy’s French poster forMadam Satan. It helps that the film has special significance for me, but this stands out regardless. It’s like an ad for Catwoman decades before the fact. There isn’t another poster from 1930 like it: